It is well known in the art to provide systems for chilling wine and other beverages to maintain the wine at a suitable temperature for serving. One of the simplest and best known procedures for accomplishing such chilling operations is through the use of a "wine bucket" within which a bottle of wine is surrounded by chipped ice to keep the wine cool for a suitable period of time, such as in the course of a dinner. In the past, various procedures have been proposed to overcome disadvantages associated with the use of a conventional ice bucket. As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,823,974 to Crosser, there are provided containers of generally cylindrical configurations designed to store one or more beverage containers in a thermally-insulated liner which is filled with crushed ice. In its simplest configuration, the Crosser system comprises a thermally-insulated cylinder, such as "Styrofoam" foamed plastic, within which a wine bottle fits with a clearance providing an annular space between the inner wall of the insulated cylinder and the wine bottle. This annular space is filled with crushed ice, and a resilient wedge-shaped sealing member is then put in place around the shoulder of the wine bottle to hold it in place. A cap closure then fits into the sealing member by a friction fit to cover the top of the wine bottle. Rather than frictional engagements between the sealing member and the cylinder and also the protective cap, these members can be threadibly engaged.
Another embodiment disclosed in the patent to Crosser incorporates a block of insulated plastic material having a plurality of recesses into which beverage containers can be fitted and surrounded with ice. Alternative configurations of chilling cylinders disclosed in Crosser include those shaped generally to conform to drinking glasses, such as pilsner glasses used for beer.
Another type of system in which the wine bottle or other beverage container can be withdrawn from the ice bucket is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,870,837 to Weins. The Weins system is designed to enable a conventional ice bucket to be dispensed with in its entirety in order to avoid stated disadvantages associated with its use. The Weins system incorporates the use of a chilling vessel material having a high heat capacity, thus enabling the vessel to be pre-cooled after which a wine bottle is put in place within the vessel. Consistent with the objective of avoiding moisture within the interior of the vessel, an insulating material, such as cork or the like, is placed on the bottom of the vessel in order to reduce the likelihood that condensation will collect to the bottom of the vessel. In the event the moisture should, nevertheless, condense on the wine bottle or other container, the upper closure for the vessel is provided with an absorbent inner lining. The upper closure is segmented to provide a series of soft and flexible pie-shaped segments. This configuration limits the flow of air into the container and allows a wine bottle to be inserted into the vessel, with the closure then fitting tightly around the neck of the wine bottle, or in the case of a short beverage container, completely over the top of the beverage container. An alternative system disclosed in Weins comprises an inner side wall and a spaced-apart outer side wall with the two side walls defining a cavity which can be filled with a liquid having a melting point close to and slightly below the temperature which is desired to be maintained.